Okay, okay, let's take it from here...

June 27, 2010

Jeremy Collingwood has an impressive list of credentials in the reggae reissue scene, being responsible for many quality compilations for Trojan, Island and EMI, including the excellent I Am The Upsetter box set. One of his latest projects was to compile the new Pressure Sounds compilation, Sound System Scratch, a collection of rare Black Ark dub plates. With the reggae message board crowd buzzing about this release, I spoke with Jeremy about this Upsetting compilation.

How did Sound System Scratch come about? Rumours are that someone with an impressive dub plate collection offered them to Pressure Sounds. Where did the material come from?

Indeed, a collection of dub plates and tapes came Pressure Sounds' way and I did the honours. These dub plates were in and around the scene for years, as far as I know.

What is the sound quality like? Dub plates aren't well known for high-fidelity sound! Are they being presented "as is", or were some of the crummy sounding ones cleaned up? How many are taken from master tapes?

All tracks are either from dub plates or from tapes from which dub plates were cut. About one third of the songs are from tape. There were some technical issues, but these were resolved with no significant change to their sound. Of course, it's not an ECM Jazz release standard! This set is about great music that could only be heard in Jamaican and UK based sound systems. What I'm so pleased about is that after so many collections that have little to do with Lee Perry, this is 100% bona fide Black Ark music. It's not half finished rhythm tracks like some CDs which have appeared over the past few years and been tinkered with years later. There's unknown tunes and new mixes of well known rhythms. And it's all presented with typical Pressure Sounds care and style – there's a reason Pressure Sounds has been going so long!

What sound systems used these dub plates? I always figured that Scratch was too eccentric to deal with the "mainstream" reggae scene in Jamaica, like sound systems.

The particular sound systems are lost in the mists of time – there are no sounds named on the plates. I think Scratch lost the Jamaican vibe after about '75 or '76. But he was popular in the UK from early 1970s right up until the end of the decade. Scratch was always up for a little extra money by selling plates to sound men and he seems to have made many dub plate mixes. I think by 1978, he was tricky to deal with but still needed money, so he kept on mixing!

One interesting conjecture about Sound System Scratch is that some of these tunes have been overdubbed, and that the tunes credited to Augustus Pablo aren't really Pablo on the melodica.

Well, what can I say? Let dem 'ear de tunes, less they look foolish! Lol Bell Brown and I put out an Augustus Pablo discography, during which time I learned the difference between Pablo, Tosh, Glen Brown, Bobby Kalphat, and Family Man on the melodica...never mind Dr. Pablo! (laughs) When one of the mento collections I put out was released, I got an e-mail accusing me of overdubbing certain elements on several tracks. All tracks were dubbed straight off 78s! I tend to get between one and three abusive e-mails per release…you would think people had something better to do. It's the same with my sound system. I get people telling me this isn't right, that's wrong...it drives you mad.

I also spoke to Jeremy about an exciting new project he's just completed called Kiss Me Neck: A Lee Perry Companion.

Kiss Me Neck will be released later on this summer by Cherry Red Books. It's a Lee Perry "musicography", as I call it. An old fashioned discography, but with lots of bonus features: photos, commentary and the like. Kiss Me Neck is similar to my earlier Scratch discography, Give Me Power, but I started from ground zero. I found so many mistakes and additions that needed to be done on Give Me Power, I decided to start from scratch with Scratch (laughs). Ten years of research! This new book has loads more information and new sections, including matrix numbers, a guide to blank label records and more. I just looked at the last printer's proofs – it should be out by August.

For more information, check out www.traxonwax.net.

June 21, 2010

For more than 30 years, dub plates - exclusive, one-of-a-kind mixes for sound systems - have been a "hidden" part of reggae's history. Pressure Sounds' next release will showcase some of that hidden history, Black Ark style.

Although Lee Perry's distinctive, eccentric productions from the Black Ark stood outside of the reggae mainstream, Scratch produced many dub plates between 1973 - 1979, creating exclusive, mind-bending mixes that have never been heard since.

Sound System Scratch features 19 Black Ark dub plates as well as a treasure trove of rare photographs by Dennis Morris, archive material and sleeve notes by well-known reggaeologist Jeremy Collingwood. Although Scratch was well known for remixing some of his favourite rhythms over and over again to create several different versions, these rare dub plates will come as a revelation even to the most hardcore Scratch fans. It promises to be one of the most exciting Lee Perry collections for many years.

From the Pressure Sounds website: "The exclusive mixes showcased on this release have never been heard before outside of sound system dances. Some will be familiar through their commercial incarnations, such as 'Bucky Skank', 'History' and 'Groovy Situation', but here they have been pushed and pulled, coaxed and cajoled in hitherto unexplored and previously unimagined directions. This is music from a man coming to the end of his tether."

1. Dread Dub Plate - Lee Perry
2. Lama Lava Mix One - Augustus Pablo & The Upsetters
3. Groove Dubber - The Upsetters
4. Groove Rider - The Upsetters
5. Jucky Skank - The Upsetters
6. Chim Cherie - The Upsetters
7. The Rightful Organiser - Lee Perry & The Upsetters
8. Stagger - Lee Perry & The Upsetters
9. Big Neck Cut - Lee Perry & The Upsetters
10. Zeal Of The Lord - The Upsetters
11. Dub Of The Lord - The Upsetters
12. Returning Wax - The Upsetters
13. Bush Dub Corntrash - Winston Wright & The Upsetters
14. From Dub Four - Clive Hylton & The Upsetters
15. Roots Train Number Two - Junior Murvin & The Upsetters
16. Locks In The Dublight - Lee Perry & The Upsetters
17. Moonlight Version - The Upsetters
18. Dub History - Carlton Jackson & The Upsetters
19. Living Dub - Keith Rowe & The Upsetters

Sound System Scratch will be released on August 31 on CD and double LP. As a tasty preview, Pressure Sounds has pressed a 7" single that features an exclusive B-side. It's been a long time since anyone has put out a really Upsetting Lee Perry collection, so maximum respect to Pressure Sounds for making this one happen.

April 28, 2010

I suppose it's not much of an update to say "there will be no more regular updates to this site", but that's the way it is. After 15 years, I don't feel like I have too much to add to Eternal Thunder and would rather concentrate on other endeavours. However, if and when there is some notable news about Lee Perry, I'll be certain to make a new entry.

It's ironic that Trojan's new Lee Perry collection is called Sipple Out Deh, because it's certainly sipple out there for all of our favourite reggae reissue labels. I find it strange to feel nostalgic for the 2000s, but it's true – there was so much great reggae being reissued by cool labels who knew what they were doing. At present, Blood and Fire is gone, Heartbeat lies dormant, Auralux and Hot Pot have vanished; only Pressure Sounds has survived the "golden years" of reggae reissues and continues to put out quality collections. Trojan is now just another brick in a vast wall after their parent company Sanctuary Records went bankrupt in 2007 and was bought by the gigantic Universal (who also own Island). Trojan's flood of releases from a few years ago has now slowed to a drip and their website is frustratingly stagnant. So I was pleasantly surprised to see a new, double CD Scratch collection in the works, even if it does contain a lot of predictable overlap from their previous releases.

However, what makes Sipple Out Deh worthwhile is the inclusion of some rare tracks that have never been released on CD (most notably the title track, the sizzling Jamaican mix of Max Romeo's "War Ina Babylon") as well as a few songs that were only available on now deleted Trojan collections such as Build The Ark and Open The Gate.

All things considered, Sipple Out Deh looks like a fresh compilation that's a nice update from previous Trojan sets.

Lee "Scratch" Perry & Friends: Sipple Out Deh
Best of the Black Ark Years: The Jamaican 7"s, 1974 to 1978

CD #1: 1974 - 1976
1. Enter The Dragon – The Upsetters
2. It Hurts So Good (aka Hurt So Good) – Susan Cadogan & The Mighty Diamonds
3. Babylon A Fall – King Burnett
4. Curley Locks – Junior Byles
5. Dreader Locks – Junior Byles & Lee Perry
6. Stay Dread – Lee Perry
7. Do It Baby (aka Nice And Easy) – Susan Cadogan
8. The Long Way – Junior Byles
9. Three Blind Mice – Max Romeo & The Upsetters
10. Three Times Three – King Tubbys
11. Bury The Razor – The Upsetters
12. Down Here In Babylon – Brent Dowe
13. Be Thankful (For What You’ve Got) – Bunny ‘Rugs’ Clarke
14. Woman’s Gotta Have It – Jimmy Riley
15. Bushweed Corntrash – Bunny & Ricky
16. Roast Fish And Corn Bread (Jamaican mix) – Lee Perry
17. Sipple Out Deh (Jamaican mix) – Max Romeo
18. Ital Corner – Prince Jazzbo
19. Police And Thieves – Junior Murvin
20. White Belly Rat – Lee Perry
21. Sufferer’s Time – The Heptones
22. A Wah Dat – Junior Dread
23. Mr Cop – Gregory Isaacs

CD #2: 1977 - 1978
1. Vibrate On (Jamaican mix) – Augustus Pablo & The Upsetters
2. Better Future – Errol Walker
3. Mistry Babylon – The Heptones
4. Stand Up – Eric Donaldson & The Keystones
5. No Peace – The Meditations
6. Ethiopia Land – Peter & Paul Lewis
7. My Little Sandra – Leo Graham
8. Green Bay Incident – Lord Sassafras
9. Think So – The Meditations
10. Home Guard – Michael Campbell (aka Mikey Dread)
11. Travelling – Debra Keese & The Black Five
12. Peace And Love – Shuamark & Robinson
13. Dread At The Control – Michael Campbell (aka Mikey Dread)
14. Forward With Jah Orthodox – Mystic I
15. Land Of Love – The Sons Of Light
16. Brother Noah – The Shadows
17. Give Thanks And Praise – Junior Ainsworth
18. Mr. Money Man – Danny Hensworth
19. Cross Over – Junior Murvin
20. Guideline – George Faith
21. Babylon Falling – The Heptones

January 17, 2010

Vivian Jackson – better known as Yabby You – was one of the most uncompromising voices in reggae. His death after years of ill health serves to underscore his immense contributions to reggae music.

Jackson's music, informed by his deep faith, often sounded like it was something out of the Old Testament. And like some prophet in of the Bible, Jackson often wandered the desert, was attacked by his enemies and endured great tribulations in order to get his message across.

Jackson was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1946, one of seven children. At the age of twelve, he was abandoned by his parents and found work making Dutch pots in a furnace located in a rough district of Waterhouse. The fumes from the furnace ravaged his lungs and he was repeatedly hospitalized. When he was 17 he became seriously ill, suffering from the effects of malnutrition. While in hopsital, doctors told him that his young body was also wracked with arthritis. Physically unable to do the kind of work he had done before, Jackson hustled a living on the street, living hand to mouth for many years.

By his early twenties, Jackson had become a Rastafarian, although he did not believe in the divinity of Emperor Haile Selassie. His Christian beliefs were at odds with the other Rastas he knew and he was given the nickname "Jesus Dread" as a result of his ideas. While the disagreements he had with other Rastas were usually civil, in later years Jackson would be physically threatened for his stance.

Jackson's initial experience with music was not very encouraging: despite not being a very strong singer, he joined a vocal trio and just as they were about to record their first song, a member of the band went behind his back and recorded one of Jackson's tunes with another singer. Once he discovered the treachery, Jackson broke with the group and the experience made him eternally cagey about working with others.

After a prolonged argument with some Rastas about spiritual matters, Jackson had a vision that compelled him to get into a recording studio to get his ideas on tape. To get the money he needed to hire a studio, Jackson returned to his previous work at the furnace, in spite of warnings from the doctors at the hospital. It took him almost two years to scrape together enough money to to buy a reel of tape and hire Dynamic studio for half an hour. Luckily, a crew of top musicians such as Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, Earl "Chinna" Smith and Aston "Familyman" Barrett were willing to play for free, captivated by the young dread's vision and determination. The song was "Conquering Lion" (1972), one of Jackson's signature tunes and which gave him his famous nickname after the haunting chorus of "be-you, yabby yabby you..."

Over the next year, Jackson released a handful of other excellent records, including "Love Thy Neighbour" and "Warn The Nation." In 1975, he released the Conquering Lion album, a true cornerstone of Jamaican roots music. From there, Jackson continued to sing and produce some of the most amazing music ever recorded in Jamaica. Although continually suspicious of the music industry, his charisma and talent attracted some of the best singers, deejays and musicians, not to mention the legendary King Tubby, whose dub mixes of Jackson's heavy and spooky songs took dub to heigher heights.

For nearly forty years, Jackson crafted some of the most dynamic and intensely spiritual music of our time, despite having to deal with perpetually ill health, music industry pirates, and open hostility from many Rastas who continued to criticize his Christian beliefs. He never wavered from following his own path in his life and in his music.

In 1997, Blood & Fire released the stunning 2-CD set Jesus Dread, a comprehensive set of Jackson's work from 1972-1977. Any true reggae fan will own a copy of this magnificent collection. It put the spotlight back on Jackson, whose music richly deserved a wider audience. It included four tracks recorded at the Black Ark: the stirring "Run Come Rally" and its dub, the haunting "Death Trap" by Tommy McCook and the dread "Jah Vengeance".

Throughout the 2000s, Jackson re-released many of his old singles and albums, quietly trying to reclaim them from bootleg editions that had been on the market for many years. He also recorded new music including Jah Will Be Done (1997) released on the Canadian label Peacemaker Records.

Vivian Jackson died of a stroke on January 12, 2010. His works live on.

December 20, 2009

Over the past couple of weeks, I've made a few changes and improvements to Eternal Thunder, mainly behind the scenes in the HTML code. The Radio Scratch archive has been redesigned to make it easier to browse, listen and download the 32 episodes of this upsetting podcast. Sadly, no new articles in 2009 for Upsetter Station, but I encourage people to check out all of the cool articles from the archives, including an excellent interview with Watty Burnett and the fascinating lowdown on the eccentric Scottish producer Lee "Scotch" Perry. The discography section has been cleaned up a bit, and I'm embarrassed to admit that I still don't have a listing of U.S. singles in there, something I've been promising since 2006. Soon come...

Ron's excellent Upsetters Riddim Shower site has been given a serious overhaul. Be sure to check out the new photos page and for all you soul men, the Soul Train page makes a listing of all of the soul originals that Scratch recorded cover versions of.

The Congos got together with Ras Kush and recorded a new version of their Black Ark classic "Solid Foundation". The vocal trio is in fine form, still sounding every bit as vital as they did back in 1977. The 10" single features the new version and remixes by Dougie Conscious and Jonah Dan. Check out some sound samples at the Black Redemption Sound MySpace page or order one from the Black Redemption website.

October 25, 2009

"Congo a bongo, congo ashanti..." The Congos and Lee Perry are working on a new album together. As this video at Reggae France shows, Cedric Myton, Congo Ashanty Roy, Watty Burnett and Scratch are collaborating on a new set of songs, co-produced by Scratch and a French producer in Jamaica. Hardly "back in the Black Ark" as the opening credits suggest, but with man like Boris Gardiner on bass, Dwight Pinkney on guitar and Robbie Lyn on keyboards, it's definitely a throwback to the golden days of reggae. Looks like everyone was having fun at the session — can't wait to hear the album.

Scratch's son Omar Perry has a new album out on Makasound called Can't Stop Us. Omar was first heard on record as one of the taunting children's voices in Junior Byles "The Thanks We Get." Along with his brother Sean and sister Marsha, Omar created a band called The Upsetter Juniors in the 1980s and released a lone single, "Positive Vibration". Eventually the group split and Omar spent some time with Junior Reid at his One Blood studio learning production. He then spent some time in Gambia as a radio and nightclub DJ before relocating to Belgium. He continued working as a DJ, playing all across Europe, but also got back behind the microphone as a singer. His first single, "Rasta Meditation", was produced by none other than Adrian Sherwood. Since then, Omar has also collaborated with Sly & Robbie, Mafia & Fluxy, Mad Professor and Dreadzone. His debut album, Man Free, was released in 2007 and now Omar is back with the excellent Can't Stop Us, a solid set of roots reggae which includes a cover version of one of his father's most famous productions, "Beat Down Babylon".

October 7, 2009

Check out Peter Dean Rickards' upsetting photos of the modern day Black Ark at Afflicted Yard. And then check out all of Rickards' other stunning photos.

September 2, 2009

The man Fred Locks from Holland (no, not the Fred Locks) reports that Upsetter Exchange is now back in action. Upsetter Exchange is a website where registered users can look for rare Lee Perry material. The emphasis is on rare, so if you want a copy of "Dreadlocks In Moonlight", don't bother, but if you're after a copy of "Manchoneal Jail House Wall" by High Priest, check it out!

Lee Perry is on tour in the United States again and as usual journalists are anxious to get an audience with the Upsetter. Now that Scratch is giving us some more lucid comments instead of his cryptic "outerviews", they can be quite interesting to read. This interview is quite good – better than the usual misinformed attempts to write about Scratch – but I don't know where this woman got the idea that Scratch invented scratching vinyl. Everyone knows that he got his most famous nickname from his first recording, "Chicken Scratch", in 1960.

On September 19 I'll be joining DJ Kode9, Ashley Beedle, Pete Holdsworth and other esteemed selecters as part of On The Wire's 25th anniversary program. On The Wire supremo Steve Barker was nice enough to invite me to the party – listen for my 45-minute reggae and dub mix on BBC Radio Lancashire between 10 am - 2 pm.

Check out this upsetting artwork from Lance Mountain, inspired by the art that Jah Wise and Scratch painted on the walls of the Black Ark.

June 4, 2009

After a few years without any notable Scratch re-releases, Island/Trojan (now both under the thumb of the giant Universal) are going to upset with a deluxe 2CD version of Junior Murvin's Police And Thieves.

The deluxe set looks pretty tasty, with some rare dubs and some of the seldom heard tracks that Junior cut at the Black Ark after Police And Thieves. Most of the material has already been released on collections such as Arkology and Baffling Smoke Signal, but to have all of this material in one set will be very nice. No definite release date; the Trojan website lists it as "this summer".

Big up to the man Arkmaster who has relaunched www.blackark.com with a dynamite new podcast, Black Ark Sound System. It's been developed with the help of Rhygin Records, who have just released a terrific 12" from Tino Ranks and Sandollar Sound that is straight up 1960s Upsetter style instrumental groovy. The rest of their mighty 7" catalog is a must as well.

May 25, 2009

Thanks to everyone who has e-mailed me about the end of Radio Scratch. I think the best comments came from James:

A quick lament on the passing of the last and final episode of Radio Scratch. Without knowing it, you have made great company in distant corners of the planet and speeded the passing of thousands of miles in planes and cars. I stuffed almost all of the Radio Scratch sessions on my iPod on a recent trip that took me from Maputo (Mozambique) to Majuro (Marshall Islands) by way of Johannesburg, Sydney, Port Moresby, Fiji, Hawaii and back. Sure was a long time in plane seats! High points? The opening moments of Doug Wendt's November 2007 episode (Scratch with Dub Syndicate) and something wild towards the end of the February 2008 session with heavy organ flavour ("The Jumper").

I also got this great message from the man Nico in Amsterdam. He was listening to a Radio Scratch episode and was reminded about his chance encounter with the Upsetter:

I am listening to "The Last Days of the Black Ark" – great stuff.

I'm from Amsterdam and I have a story to tell you. Just past 50 years of age, I've been buying and listening to Upsetter music since the seventies. Last year one of the best and oldest music stores in Amsterdam closed their doors: Boudisque. Quite a legendary place. Music stores are closing one by one in Holland; it's the downloading thing of course.

Anyway, around 1978 there was a very special lady working in Boudisque who was responsible for the reggae department. She imported the best of the best. I remember clearly how I first heard the Sangie Davis "Words" 12 inch single very loudly through the big shop speakers and I thought "wow, this is it". I bought it instantly. I didn't have much money then (still don't) but I bought whatever I could afford. A life long deep affection for the Mighty Upsetter's music was beginning.

I became friendly with the Boudisque lady (Eleanore), and when she left Boudisque she started working for a small record company based in Amsterdam: Black Star Line. One day she told me that they had invited Lee Perry to come to Holland, that he was actually coming on Saturday and, if I liked, I could come down to meet him. How could I refuse?

That Saturday I went to the Black Star Line office based in the Vondelstraat. Very big speakers were pumping Upsetting music while we were waiting for Scratch. When he finally entered, his Roast Fish album was given a spin and Lee started singing along with the record to "Soul Fire". He was relaxed, in a good mood and very friendly. And smoking weed constantly.

Lee had this big painted briefcase with him and when he opened it, it was filled with all kind of stones. Quite a heavy briefcase! When asked why he carried this briefcase full of stones with him he replied with a very long story: "The stones are the creation of the Earth and Jah gave us life..." and so on.

Lee was smoking weed from an ordinary water tap you can find in every household, turned upside down to make a pipe. When asked why he did so, he answered as if it was a stupid question: "Well, because I used to be a plumber in Jamaica."

We had a great afternoon. Later on, some recordings were made in Amsterdam and the Return Of Pipecock Jackxon album was released on the Black Star Line label. I still have a cassette Eleanore gave to me with a different mix, recorded directly from the soundboard. She also told me that there were chickens walking around in the studio and that Scratch could make the chickens do some kind of dance. Yes, Scratch is a very special person!

The idea that Radio Scratch is being heard and enjoyed around the world is very cool. Despite these good vibes coming my way, I still don't have any plans to start doing the podcast again on a regular basis. It wasn't an easy decision for me to end Radio Scratch, but I don't think I can do anything new or interesting with it and felt that the time was right to pull the plug.

Other than these nice e-mails, all is quiet with the Upsetter. I don't know of any new projects, tours or re-releases. It's been awhile since Pressure Sounds or Heartbeat gave us something new from the vaults. Soon come?

March 14, 2009

After three upsetting years of Radio Scratch, I have decided to upset and stop producing any new episodes. I feel that I have taken the podcast as far as it can go. I have championed Scratch's new music, explored the depths of his 1970s productions, covered every era in his 40-year career and selected some of the rarest material I can find. It's getting to the point where I feel I simply can't do anything new or interesting with Radio Scratch. I'm also getting to a point in my life where noodling around on a computer is quickly losing its appeal. I need some hobbies that don't involve a keyboard or a mouse.

The final episode of Radio Scratch features some of my favourite tunes from the more than 30 podcasts I have produced since 2006. Looking over three years of playlists, I'm quite proud of the podcast and grateful for all of the praise that it has gathered over the years.

Special thanks to Doug "Midnight Dread" Wendt and Ron "Smokey Room" Wittekoek for being guest selecters and especially to Kelly "Eight For Eight" Maurice for providing me with so much rare music over the years. A friendly nod also must go out to Steve Barker from On The Wire for providing me with some boss sneak previews of Scratch's latest works via Adrian Sherwood. And finally, thanks to Melanie Zaitsoff, whose velvet tones bid you "welcome to Radio Scratch" on every episode.

I'll certainly continue to update Eternal Thunder every once in awhile, but other projects are commanding more of my attention these days. There seems to be an ebb and flow with this website since I launched it way back in 1996. The past couple of years have certainly been a flow – now it's time for an ebb, a rest, some time away from regular updates and a breath of fresh air.